I wanted to see how your virtual recall of Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) was coming. I noted that your page includes quotes from me about my impressions of Bob Jauch’s Hurley listening session on March 31. I won’t “LIKE” your page, because I don’t. But since you’re posting my words, please post this letter for your members to read:

Last September, Rep Robin Vos, (R-ALEC) wanted to introduce a constitutional amendment that would make it harder to recall elected officials. It was Vos who told you not to use recalls just because you don’t like how someone votes. He believes recalls should only be done if the elected official has committed a crime or shown malfeasance in office.

Sen. Bob Jauch did not commit a crime. He did what he was elected to do: represent the whole range of the people in his district. The public sentiment at all the hearings for AB 426 did not support the bill. Go back and read the results of the hearings. Even the pro-mining people said a bill written by a mining company, for a mining company left us all too vulnerable.

Rep. Vos and the Republicans, on the other hand, have consistently violated our 1st and 4th amendment rights. Here a well-respected geologist is trying to exercise his 1st amendment right of peaceful protest, just as the Recall Jauch group did in Hurley. Notice that he is handcuffed and taken out for quietly holding a sign that quotes his constitutional right to hold a sign. That’s because the Republican Committee Chair Stephen Nass ordered his arrest. Do you support this blatant violation of the 1st Amendment? If so, then the anti-Jauch welcome wagon at Hurley High should have also been handcuffed and led out for holding signs.

Why didn’t those six police officers at Hurley High School arrest all of you on March 31 then? Because Sen. Jauch supports the democratic process. ALEC-members Gov. Walker, Sen. Fitzgerald, Rep. Jeff FItzgerald and Rep. Vos (the state chairman and “Grand Poobah of ALEC”) do not. They believe in arresting us for exercising our right of free speech. For me, that is a crime and one of the major reasons I signed the recall papers.

Citizens attending the listening session were allowed as much time as they needed to epxress their views, and could hold large signs protesting Jauch’s decisions. No one was arrested and no one was gaveled off, as so many have been at other mining hearings.

Sen. Jauch came to you with open government in Hurley. Recall Jauch supporters got to speak as long as they needed. He never gavelled you quiet. He never spoke disrespectfully to you, and he never had any of you arrested for exercising your 1st amendment rights. He listened until all of you were done speaking, and then he replied. His responses were measured, they made sense, and as far as I have witnessed, he spoke the truth.

And whether you like it or not, the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, who live a mere six miles from the mine site, have the right to co-manage the ceded territory under Federal Treaty Law and the US Constitution. I know you and your friends have suggested we “eliminate the Indians” but it’s not going to happen. Bad River has worked with the DNR for years co-managing our natural resources here to make this area the beautiful gem it is today.

Had this bill passed, it would have violated federal law. Like the rest of us, Bad River has been denied their rights under this administration because of your majority party’s blatant decisions to ignore the law. So be forewarned that we up here in the north will not allow our neighbors to be harmed by your refusal to accept the truth and your willingness to violate Federal and State Constitutional law.

That you are angry, I understand. But why are you wasting time trying to recall a politician because he upheld democracy? He actually sat down with Sen. Dale Schultz (R-New Richmond) and wrote a new bill. He did not rely on environmental lawyers to write the first draft, unlike the Republicans who allowed mining company lawyers to write the bill and prevented the Democrats from having any input at all. Is this your idea of democracy?

Why do you keep insisting we are lying about the environmental dangers of a mine? Do you think I drove all over the state and sat through hours of hearings to testify only because I don’t want Hayward to have jobs? Really? I can think of about a zillion other things I could have done with my time and money.

While I do not always agree with everything Sen. Jauch does, one thing I can say without hesitation is that he has held a place for democracy. He supports open government by and for the people. He shows up, he listens, he tries his best to speak for all of us. He’s not perfect, he’s not even a hero. He’s just doing his job, making sure we all have a chance to participate in democracy.

And as far as the Scott Walker recall, are you familiar with John Doe? Or are you living in denial of that as well? Will it help if he is actually indicted before you open your eyes to what you are supporting?

Anytime you are ready to stop the witch hunt and join with the rest of us who want to find new ways to bring prosperity and security for all members of our community, we are here. Otherwise, I will continue to shed light on your misplaced efforts to recall someone who merely did his job.

For those wondering, that video was from the Capitol in Madison during a hearing. He was asked repeatedly (and you can see that) to honor the policy, and the rules, of the Capitol, but he refused to do so, so the Capitol police escorted him out. He accomomplished nothing, and he certainly wasn’t a martyr.
There was no policy like that at a public auditorium in Hurley. To compare both incidents is absurd and wrong. Had there been a “no sign” policy at the auditorium in Hurley, there would have been no signs.
Funny how the author of this tripe believes that the the republican recalls are alright, even though they were just “doing what they were elected to do,” but, the Jauch recall is somehow different because he was doing “what he was elected to do?” What’s the difference? Jauch is a dem. Jauch hurt the people of his district, and my union brothers and sisters, worse than Act 10 ever was even accused of. Sorry, you can’t have it both ways.

Well funny how it is OK to recall Walker, but when the shoe is on the other foot it is wrong. The recalls have been a huge problem for this state and stops policies from moving forward due to politics. Jauch wouldn’t have to be recalled if he would have really done his job. And he would have did his job if the recall Walker didn’t start. Now we are divided and it is due to people not liking what the governor was willing to do and that is to make very hard decisions. We shgould not be blaming Walker as he is not the one that created the problem, he inherited it. The real blame is Doyle and the assembly at that time. Walker would not have had to make the tough decisions if the ones before him would have addressed the problem, whne they were in office. So lets stop blaming and get the state back on track. There is room for compromise, some are just willing to compromise and others will only say no.

Did you ever wonder why no one has been arrested at the capitol before Walker took office? Why holding a sign in the rotunda was not an alleged crime before the Tea Party Republicans took control? Why the rules were changed to allow Republicans to, at their own whim, have people arrested?

I am sure you have your ideas, but mine say that they wish to suppress the voice of opposition to their fascist intention to turn this state into a corporate arm of Koch and Cline. They don’t want people knowing what they are doing, because if people knew the truth, that they are committing crimes–against democracy, against the people, against our native american brothers and sister–they too would be appalled.

Bob Jauch did his job. He is not here to cater to the mining company, as so many of you think. He is here to listen to the people. We ALL spoke and unfortunately for you, we all spoke that we did not want this legislation. Period.

Walker on the other hand is about to be indicted. I signed the recall papers not because he and his Tea Party Republicans didn’t vote like I wanted, as you seem to think. I recalled him because he has hijack democracy. He lied. He lied about busting the unions, he lied about the impact of collective bargaining. For the first three months of the year he told us how broke we were and made teachers the new ones to blame to distract from his illegal activities. And yet, in April 2011, he tesitifed before a Senate oversight committee in DC that collective bargaining had absolutely no affect on the budget. Really? So why did he tell us we were so broke and teachers were to blame for the first three months?

And whether or not you are for or against collective bargaining, to bring forward a budget that was written by ALEC and then telling the state that, like it or not, this is it, and then inform the Dems that they have five days to buck up and accept that there is no more negotiations, that this budget is ‘for our own good” is a heist. Collective bargaining, like Treaty Rights, has been a part of this state for 50 years. To unilaterally inform us, now that you have the majority votes, that you are stripping it away is a heist. Especially when you lie about its fiscal impacts.

Again RickN read the article. Will it take an actual indictment for you to get your head out of the sand to see, Walker IS a criminal? Whatever it takes. 900,000 signatures say many people believe me. How come, if Doyle was the problem, you couldn’t get enough people to support you to recall him?

And Bob, I don’t support the recall of Republicans because they were doing what they were elected to do. I support them because I have watch first hand how this year they have lock stepped extortion voted, without taking into account what the people want, without input from the Democrats and passing bill after bill at record speed that were written by Koch funded ALEC that are stripping away our rights. If you can’t see that truth, then perhaps you are part of the problem.

To clarify even further, these rules about signs during hearings were not implemented during the current session, they were implemented long before that. No one heard about anyone getting arrested before because, you guessed it, everyone followed the rules of the hearings. At that particular session, it was the dems on the hearing panel that also tried to get the geologist to stop, and it was the dems that requested that he be removed.So quit trying to pretend the geologist is some kind of hero, he isn’t. He is just some guy making an ass out of himself for the sake of the cause, and it backfired. He just came out looking like an ass.
As for the Walker Lied baloney, it is just baloney. In WEAC’s own literature, they said that Walker was going to do what he did, BEFORE the election. http://wtaq.com/blogs/post/jbader/2011/nov/28/weac-knew-what-scott-walker-planned-doing/ So quit spreading the lies and talking points of the dems. Just be honest.

And again I will say it. Had there been a “no sign” policy at the auditorium in Hurley, there would have been no signs. The same is true of Madison, if there is a “no sign” policy, then it has to be honored. To compare these two events in terms of allowable use of signs is absurd and ridiculous. One violated the rules, the other didn’t.
Get real.

Should I begin the list of Federal laws this administration have violated by lock step extortion voting their ALEC agenda? When will you admit that Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, as well as all the other tribes of the state, have the right to co manage the ceded territories? If the mining law would have passed, it would have ended up in Federal court like the many others. Treaty Rights are FEDERAL LAW. Just like Voter ID violated Federal Law, just like passing Act 10 violated Federal Law, just like redistricting violated FEDERAL LAW. This makes it CRIMES. As long as you keep talking around this, you can talk yourself in circles for years. By then walker will be in jail and we can have democracy back.

Well, you just said it all Barbara. The tribe can shut down the mine, the EPA can shut down the mine, the Bureau of Indian Affairs can shut down the mine, The Dept of Interior can shut down the mine, the Army Corp of Engineers can shut down the mine, the DNR can shut down the mine, etc. All in all, there are many Federal and State agencies that can shut down the mine. So why did Jauch insist on more power for himself, when all of these other agencies can shut it down for the same reasons? All this bill would have done is speed up the process in the State of Wisconsin,to the same speed as our surrounding states, nothing more than that. So to pretend that this is the republicans trying to ram something down everyone’s throat is a myth and a lie, and the furthest thing from the truth. The truth is, the dems voted AS A BLOCK so that the Republicans and Scott Walker wouldn’t have a victory. Instead, it turned out that the dems, and Bob Jauch, voted AS A BLOCK to flip the finger to their constituents, and tell them that their agenda was more important that decent paying, environmentally safe jobs.
Mining is THE most regulated industry in America. And we are talking about Iron mining. No chemicals are used, instead, MAGNETS are used. The mining company has to submit a plan for when the mine is done, so that there is no enviromental damage. This particular mine would be something no worse than a gravel pit. Damage to the environment is basically nothing. What you (and Bob Jauch) keep saying about enviroment has nothing to do with the facts. Magnets, not Chemicals.

@ Bob, there are several videos of Walker talking about how you should negotiate with the mines. You are the one being dishonest. If Walker ran on what he was going to do, he would have NEVER been elected. The rules may be on the books, but this regime has enacted them, changed them and manipulated them in a way very suggestive of fascism. People like you who can’t see that will be the demise of democracy.

It was the republicans that negotiated, the dems did not. In the conference committee, the republicans negotiated and conceded, on 22 terms of the original bill, and the mining company went along with those concessions. The dems did not concede on anything. The mining company conceded so much, that they put, IN WRITING, that 95% of the mining jobs would be union jobs! To say that the republicans and Walker did not negotiate is another, flat out, lie. It was the DEMS that were not willing to negotiate.
Did you not click the link above to see that Walker did exactly what he ran on? And this, according to the Union’s own literature? Cut it out! You aren’t going to get away with spreading lies anymore.

The spirit of this story is to compare and contrast how one side actually listens to the people, and encourages input, and how the side in power has a preformulated plan set forth by ALEC and the Kochs and NO AMOUNT of citizen input or protest is heard or even tolerated. Very fascist/authoritarian dictators.

So the Gov can just make up rules that violate the constitution and we are suppose to follow along like lemmings? Perhaps that is the tea party way, but the founding fathers wrote in checks and balances (also gone from this administration) for the People to stand up and protest when they feel there is a hostile takeover of their government.

The found fathers understood tyrants, and from what I can see of this administration, the bullying, the lies, the corruption is mafia-like in its extent. We have a duty to stand up and say no when some outside entity like the Kochs and the Clines try to take over our government.

I long for the “old” republicans, more like Schulz and Ellis, the ones that listened and loved negotiating and could work out with their friends the Dems a great way to forge a vision that fits all…This governor? These Tea Party people? These are fascists, people who have been put here to do the bidding of Koch and Cline.

One tool they use is to make rules that take away our rights. So it’s the duty of the people to stand up and exercise those constitutional rights in order to keep them preserved. believe it or not, Bob, when I stand up at the capitol, I am standing up for you too. I am standing up for PROCESS not entity. Democracy. Making rules that usurp my constitutional rights is a crime as far as I can see, Another reason I signed the recall papers.

I am not pro union. I am anti corruption. No one can deny even unions are corrupt. But every time every one of the Tea Party harps on how the unions are our downfall, they become a hypocrit if they don’t also denounce the corporate money.

That’s why Shirl LaBarre is so transparent. No, she may never have met Cline, but she took his money. And now, because of this PAC she has unlimited access to his money legally, way WAY more corporate money that any union has access to, or legality for that matter. This is fascism.

If she does not know she is being used as a tool for fascism, I would pray that she learn and come join us in finding true economic prosperity in a way that does not kill our neighbors. You can claim the environmental damage is a scare tactic if you want. The truth you cannot deny is that Bad River’s great grandparents were murdered by white people grabbing power in a similar fashion.

Over 12 million Native Americans have been killed in the past several decades in the US, and I for one will throw myself in the line of fire to prevent this genocide from marching on through history.

Regard less of if you don’t realize what you are doing or not, you’re doing it. And we are kindly holding the place tin democracy to stop it, until you can come to your senses.

Time to make this one country and either eliminate the tribes, or make the reat of us have the same rights. Now that would be equality. The tribes use the treaties they like and not the ones that would go against certain rights. 100% or 0% that would be fair. The left keeps saying racists and yet they support the fact that one group should have more rights than another. So why would there be racism. It is time for those who keep opposing mining, oil , logging, certain types of farming to quit using the products of what they hate. We export many jobs overseas and now from what the scientists state we are importing the polution from the countries where we send the jobs. I understand it makes more sense to have things done in other countries that have little regulations as to have it done here where we have the best regulations. I have to ask how do people know the big bad corporations are always doing things illegally? Do you work for them, or have you in the past. I have worked for big corporations and they have very good practices and for good reasons. My son works in the oil fields and says the companies are very concerned about environmental practices. he would like to live in Wisconsin but idiots keep pushing jobs away. Time to work together for a better country for all. I find that most of the people against the mine either have a lot of money, work for the government, live on the parents hard work, trust children, but very few who are out trying to make a living are against it. Maybe those against it are for keeping people down so they feel they are better. Remember most who have money got it from hard work or inherited it. Those who worked for it probably worked with the big bad corporations in one way or another. So those who are the hases remember us who are the has nots. We want prosperity too.

Oh geez, here we go again with the “eliminate the tribes” rhetoric. I will say it as long as I need to however I need to:

For you to say, “time to make the US all one” is a frightening and racist statement, whether you like it or not. To support the US NOT invading Iran, for example, does not make me Pro Iranian, Anti-American. It means, Iran is a sovereign nation that we are trumping up as our latest “enemy do jour.” To demand we don’t go to war with Iran does not make me anything other than someone who believe we must end war because it does not work.

For me to say, Protect the tribes, does not make me racist. It makes me an American who does not believe my country should be out there destroying others for our gain. Especially a sovereign nation that appears to be standing in the way of corporate profits.

And this stupid argument that Shirl LaBarre went around saying ad nauseum, because its her only line of thinking that make sense to her destructive and selfish attitude: “There’s 40 piece of iron ore in your phone and you’re earrings have iron ore in them.” STOP please. It hurts to hear such inanity.

Iron ore fuels weapons of war. Period. If you stopped making all those weapons of war, you would not need to keep raping the Earth for your iron.

Plus stop with this argument about Native Americans time to be eliminated. It only makes you look dumber and more racist. Honestly. I do not want any Native American tribe to give up their rights, their sovereignty, they traditions any more than I would want the Jews to give up their heritage and their rights. You are dangerously close to revealing yourselves as some kind of holocaust supporters.

Bad River relies on the wild rice. We all rely on the water. Wanting to not have to be sucking on the corporate teet to get my bottled water has nothing to do with racism. But you can’t see it that way because you apparently think your way is the highway no matter what damage it does to your neighbors. Sad for you.

And then what? When its all gone? have you ever heard of the term “7 generations?” That you make decisions today as they impact 7 generations down the line. This is so that your great great great great great great grandkids have an Earth to live on. What happens when ALL the ore is gone? It doesn’t matter to you because all you live for is yourself and today? Now you know why I support Bad River.

Too bad for you. I’m sorry you are so unintelligent and small minded as to not understand the bigger picture of what is happening in this world. Take the iron ore out of the Penokees. Kill Bad River’s wild rice. Commit the next step of genocide. You can pretend its not so, but there are enough intelligent, well studied honest people who want to stand up for ALL our neighbors when they are threatened by people like you. Thank god.

So tell me, you think your kids will run back to an area that is ravaged by mining? Honestly? Have you been to Ely lately? THEY HAVE NO WATER TABLE. Did you hear me? My friends who has lived in Ely all their lives HAVE NO WATER TABLE. BECAUSE OF MINING. They need to ship it in from a neighboring community at a VERY HIGH COST. One of my friend’s last water bill was $300 for the month.

No sorry, we will never allowed your short sighted stupidity to kill all of us. End of story. I mean you can keep posting your idiotic comments here, but no one will hear but you.

Here a great question: Do you drink water? Do you want your great grand kids to have water?

And what would you choose to carry with you in a hike through the Penokees? Water or iron ore?

And what happens to the world when all the iron ore runs out? Not in your lifetime? Well that’s why I stand by Bad River because they aren’t just concerned about this time, they preserve the water and resources for those who come after us. That’s my philosophy.

And here’s one more: If you could have economic prosperity without mining, would you? Or are you iron ore addicts?